Selected in the sixth round (203rd overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Nebraska, Sam Koch arrived in Baltimore as one of the rare punters taken in the draft. Over a remarkable 16-season tenure spent entirely in Charm City, Koch revolutionized special teams across the league by pioneering new directional punting techniques, solidifying his status as a foundational pillar of Baltimore's special teams.

Koch changed the punting game from just focusing on distance to using clever placement as a powerful tool. Knowing that returners found traditional spiral punts easier to track, he created a wide variety of creative kicks, like his well-known rotational "whirlybird" or "knuckleball" punts, as well as end-over-end drop-pouts and tricky corner-pins. By tweaking the spin and flight of the ball, he often caused muffed catches, closed off return options, and kept opposing teams pinned inside their own 10-yard line, making his punts both exciting and strategically effective.

Koch's technical mastery was instrumental during the Ravens' journey to Super Bowl XLVII in 2012. Throughout that championship campaign, his control of field position consistently provided Baltimore's defense with advantageous, long fields to defend. In the Super Bowl XLVII victory over the San Francisco 49ers, Koch executed a renowned late-game maneuver: with 12 seconds remaining, he deliberately scrambled through the end zone to calculate a strategic safety, thereby running down the clock and expending crucial seconds to ensure a 34–31 victory.

His standout moment came in 2015 when Koch led the NFL in net punting average at 42.9 yards and gross punting at 46.7 yards. That impressive season earned him his first Pro Bowl selection and Second-Team All-Pro honors. Throughout his career, Koch was often among the top in yards per punt, ranking in the top 10 four times, and he regularly placed high in punts downed inside the 20-yard line.

After retiring following the 2021 season, Koch ranked seventh all-time in NFL history with 52,868 punting yards on 1,168 punts, and he placed 453 of those kicks inside the 20-yard line. He immediately transitioned to coaching, staying with Baltimore as the team's special teams consultant. In 2023, the franchise honored his legendary career by inducting him into the Ravens Ring of Honor.